The regular meeting of Wallace-Woodworth council was held at 6:00 pm on May 25, 2023. In a long and busy meeting, three delegations attended to bring information to council and to present requests.
Ducks Unlimited
Shaun Greer of Ducks Unlimited (DU) joined the meeting via Zoom and described plans to remove the control structure on Pope Lake in the Pope National Wildlife Area. The area in question is located near the north-east corner of the municipality, and although the lake is not within the municipal boundaries any water flowing out of the lake enters Wallace-Woodworth three miles south of the control.
According to Greer, the water control was originally constructed in 1926 by CN rail as a water source for their steam locomotives and was offered to DU as a wetland in 1967. Greer said that “this was all built prior to 1967, prior to DU involvement, so it's something obviously we have to look at in terms of the aging infrastructure and becoming a potential safety liability… it's considered a very high consequence dam.”
Given the requirement to handle a one-in-1000-year event, DU has deemed the structure too expensive to renew and proposes to remove the structure and return the area to the pre-1926 state. Greer explained that the spillway would be redesigned to handle the flow. DU is planning an open house in Hamiota in mid-June to deal with concerns and questions from the public.
Wallace-Woodworth council had several concerns and questions of their own to put to the DU representative. Coun. Caldwell said that although Greer had stated that no downstream infrastructure would be affected, she would like to know who would be responsible for repairs if in fact it was damaged. She also commented that she is “really disappointed that…we wouldn’t have at the very least been notified that this was happening…rather than having to find out from our neighbouring municipality.”
Reeve Canart expressed concern about the future of similar projects in Wallace-Woodworth, stating, “You put these projects in and then can't afford them and… in the past have come and asked the RM for assistance.” He also noted that increasing the size of wetlands would reduce the municipal assessment value by reducing agricultural land, and then to “be having to subsidize funding on the other side to keep the project going.” And “the last three times that you've come to meetings, it's because you can't afford to fix projects that have been ongoing.”
Councillor Humphries stated “We're all about trying to retain water and hold it and slow downstream flows. That seems contrary to everything that we're trying to do within the watershed. But it all sounds extremely disappointing to me that we're going backwards.”
In discussion after the Zoom presentation, all councillors reiterated their disappointment with the DU proposal and decided to attend the open house and to contact the RM of Hamiota to offer assistance.
Elkhorn Park revitalization
A delegation from the Elkhorn playground committee attended to bring an updated financial statement and a progress report on the playground upgrades. Elkhorn LUD Manager, Allison Volk and Courtney Howard of the Playground Committee presented a well organized and thorough summary of the changes to the plan since the last update. A large map showing the parts of the structure and their placement within the park gave a visual reference to help the council understand the elaborate system of activities available to users of all ages. Changes to the original plan included the relocation of the walkway to give access to all users including seniors. An adult swing that can accommodate a wheelchair adds further accessibility. The many structures and activities will all be located on a non-slip surface made from recycled rubber granules that have been tested to ensure weather resistance and UV stability.
The balance sheet provided by the committee showed revenue from the park reserve, community auction and grants and donations received of $285,833 as well as $257,000 for grants approved but not yet received for a grand total of $542,333.58, The expense side of the balance sheet showed current and pending expenses of $449,757.21 for a surplus of $92,576.37.
According to the committee, “We still will need help from counsel to help us cover some of this until all of our grants are triggered. Some of the grants require invoices for completed work and some of the suppliers require part of the payment in advance.” Regarding the opening of the park they stated, “We were kind of discussing back and forth to have it for homecoming … but I think our main goal right now is just to get it in the ground.”
Council congratulated the committee on developing such a well organized and elaborate plan. Reeve Canart said this was “a shining example of what a well-organized group of people can do, and you've done a fantastic job of the designing and the grants and fundraising in such a short period of time. That’s incredible. It will be a long-lasting legacy in the park for sure.”
Elkhorn rink ice plant
Boyd Canart and Kaylee Kyle attended to represent the Elkhorn and District Community Centre (EDCC). Canart described the issues the group is experiencing with the current ice plant in the rink. He said, “Our refrigerant is going to be phased out in the environmental act, you cannot purchase it anymore.” He added that if a leak occurred in the middle of the season “we would have no option but to shut the doors.” Canart explained that the rink is “the heart of the town throughout the winter months,” and that it is used by neighbouring communities as well, bringing people into Elkhorn and providing cultural and economic benefits.
The community has been investigating the possibility of building a new facility to house the rink and community centre in one building. With this in mind, Canart said, “We don’t want to go and spend a massive chunk of the budget (on an ice plant) that we could never reuse in the event that that actually occurred.” He said the solution would be to acquire a modular ice plant housed in a C-Can shipping container. The unit could be moved to a new location when needed and could be installed beside the existing plant to provide redundancy in the event of a breakdown.
EDCC has identified grants for $300,000 and they will use the $261,000 that has accumulated in a GIC for this purpose. They are requesting bridge financing of $300,000 to enable them to begin the planning process and order the equipment.
Other business
Council determined that road bans will be removed on May 29.
Events that received council approval and commitment to attend included the Kola community meeting, the Elkhorn School graduation, the Virden and Elkhorn Canada Day events, and the Elkhorn Western Weekend.
Council passed resolutions to support the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) in lobbying the provincial government regarding the poor condition of Provincial Roads where they pass through rural-urban areas and lobbying the federal government to pay for all repairs to railway crossings on municipal roads.
Council discussed the Request for Proposal (RFP) to build the Ward 2 shop. Only 3 RFPs were submitted, and all were significantly over budget. The item was tabled to allow time to investigate other possibilities,
At the last regular meeting, the council considered a complaint from Riley and Jennifer Dew of Elkhorn regarding a lapsed temporary storage agreement and the subsequent site cleanup. The discussion was tabled to allow time to get current site pictures. Councillor Denis Lachapelle has been storing items from his business on this municipal property since 2014 due to flooding. The property has yet to be cleaned up. Lachapelle stated that he is in the process of removing items from the property as his health permits and will have it completed this summer. He recused himself from the discussion and left the meeting. Council determined to require the garbage and refuse to be cleaned up by mid-July and the entire lot to be cleared by the end of August. CAO Mitchell will draft a letter to the complainant to explain these conditions.
Western Caucus of the AMM
Councillor Caldwell reported on the Western Caucus meeting she attended where options were considered to keep rural medical students in rural Manitoba. She said that “every doctor who graduated last year, was educated for a year online,” and that “we are 89 physicians short in Prairie Mountain Health.” Council passed a resolution to lobby the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Manitoba along with the University of Manitoba and the Manitoba Minister of Health to establish a satellite School of Medicine at Brandon University. They also resolved that special consideration should be given to rural students wishing to enroll at this school.
